Present methods of testing active safety systems/collision avoidance systems for ground vehicles generally includes a target vehicle. The idea behind the balloon vehicle or a Strikeable Surrogate Vehicle (“SSV”) is that if the vehicle under test fails to avoid a collision, the vehicle under test can strike either the balloon vehicle or the SSV and hopefully only incur at the most minimal damage to the vehicle under test.
Some significant drawbacks exist with balloon or SSV testing. First, the balloon is not a realistic facsimile for a vehicle either visually to a test driver in a test car or to a sensor such as a radar device since the material and general construction is quite unlike that of a vehicle. In many instances, the balloon or SSV is towed by another vehicle which introduces another vehicle into the test that may not be desired. In some cases, the balloon or SSV is not tethered to another vehicle, but is mounted to self-powered carriage. However, in either case, the dynamic capabilities of the balloon or SSV can limit the test that can be performed in that the balloon or SSV will deform, lift off or otherwise behave unlike a vehicle if moved too quickly. Since it is expected that the balloon or SSV will be struck, a risk of damage to the test vehicle always remains, and commonly, eventually after repeated collisions with the test vehicle(s), the balloon or SSV will need to be replaced.